Meeting Supergirl
by Tom Palin
Summary: Paul Luthor, a teenaged alternate universe version of Lex Luthor, is transferred to DC's Metropolis via an experiment with wormholes, in his father's laboratory that goes wrong. Paul is transferred from his world in 1984 to Supergirl's in 2013. Paul develops a crush on Supergirl, and tries to get her attention by becoming a superhero himself.
1. Chapter 1

Paul Luthor completed his homework, it had required little effort on his part that he knew he was smarter than everyone else, still he had to make the effort to check for typos, often times his mind races ahead of his fingers on his Macintosh keyboard and his fingers land on the wrong keys. The Macintosh keyboard was in black and white and came with a mouse. The calendar on the wall next to his bed was turned to the month of February 1984, Paul hoped to get his early semester's homework assignments so he could help his Dad with his physics experiment later that evening, the clock indicated it was 7:02 PM.

Paul was the only 16 year old college student at Yale University, and he got in on a 100% merit scholarship, Yale wanted to have him as a student to enhance its reputation for having the best and the brightest students, they even paid for his room. In the room was bed with white sheets and a woolen blanket, a single window by his bedside, a table and a bookshelf with his favorite books on it on blue painted walls. The wind whistled as it blew the branches of the trees by the illuminated parking lot outside

Paul absorbed new information like a sponge, he was a child prodigy an exceptional genius and as such he had few friends. Paul was not a social butterfly at any rate, but sometimes his football player roommate brought in his girlfriend and Paul felt a twinge of envy. Paul occasionally took the time to go to parties but he was socially awkward and didn't really know what to say. Paul was not good at small talk. Paul was a boy with average build five feet ten inches tall with red hair and gray eyes, somewhere between blue and brown, and his father was a research scientist working on a top secret defense related program.

Paul saved the file onto his floppy disk and clicked on the eject icon on his Mac, then turned it off, he could proofread the rest later, right now he had to leave in time to help his father Lionel Luthor with his experiment. Paul put on his coat, hat and gloves, it was cold and windy this particular day, and he sky was a cloudy grey promising snow later that evening. Paul left his room, walked down the corridor into the lobby and through the glass doors to the parking lot outside, got into his blue Chevy Lumina and drove off the parking lot and down the road to his father's research facility.

Paul passed a sign by the entrance that said Luthor Labs, a small research company that his father founded, he got out and walked toward the entrance, presented his ID to the security guard and proceeded to the elevator and pressed down. The elevator doors opened to a vast chamber where the apparatus lay, a huge circular platform stood in the middle of the room, various control panels and display screens illuminated the room as the platform was lit by floodlights. His father was looking over one to the readouts alongside a technician when he noticed his son, "Hello Son," he said, "I'm a little busy right now, could you look for the control program reel 357A?"

"Sure dad," Paul said, "it should be over on this shelf," Paul walked over to an aluminum shelf with a set of computer tape reels, he grabbed the one with the faded label 357A. Lionel inserted the reel onto the mainframe computer's tape drive, the reels spun feeding to program into the computer. Lionel typed a command into the computer terminal and the apparatus surrounding the platform hummed to life, the accumulators charged as indicated by the various status lights as they went from red to green, the sound grew louder as the humming filled the chamber to the point where Lionel had to shout to be heard as he gave instructions to the various technicians in the room. A spherical distortion appeared above the platform. Paul walked past the platform holding onto the railing for stability as the room shook, suddenly on of the control consoles issued smoke and the smell of ozone filled the air. "Son!" Lionel shouted, "you need to pull the main switch over there, my controls have shorted, otherwise the vortex will expand and cause the chamber to collapse!"

"Ok dad," Paul replied, he make his way around the platform and pulled the switch, sparks flew from the circuit breaker, the switch wouldn't stay depressed. Paul tried again and suddenly there was a explosion blowing Paul into the vortex. Paul heard his dad scream "No!" one last time as he fell through the vortex and into daylight. Paul screamed as the wind blew in his face, he was thousands of feet above a city, one that he did not recognize but it reminded him of New York City particularly Manhattan with its gleaming glass and steel towers, one building in particular had a spinning globe on its roof, it was summer evidently by the warm winds blowing in his face glass and steel towers loomed around him as the ground thousands of feet below him rushed up to put an end to his existence, he had only seconds to live!

Off to the side, Paul noticed something strange, a girl in a blue shirt with a red skirt and cape jumped through the windows of one of the buildings as broken glass fell down below, but the girl didn't fall in fact she ascended towards him arched above him and then plummeted downward toward his as the ground continued to rush up, the girl was a teenager with pretty blue eyes and blonde hair, she smiled as she opened her arms and grabbed him under the shoulders, then Paul felt weight again, they were slowing down, as he was close to the pavement, this deceleration was severe, Paul blacked out as the ground rushed up.

Paul came to on the grass, it looked like he wasn't unconscious for long, as the girl who rescued him was leaning over him amidst a crowd of spectators, some were calling out to her the name Supergirl coming up repeatedly, apparently she was well known in this city. Paul sat up, feeling a little dizzy, he braced himself with his elbows, a headache receding. "Are you ok?" the girl the crowd referred to as Supergirl asked. "This I will be in a little while." Supergirl offered her hand, Paul grabbed it and she pulled him up. Paul shook his head as his vision cleared. "Sorry for the steep slowdown, but it was necessary to prevent you from going splat on the pavement." Supergirl offered. "I'm just glad to be alive to tell you the truth, thank you Supergirl, that was you wasn't it flying through the sky, I wasn't hallucinating of anything?" Paul said.

"Yes that was me." Supergirl replied. Paul looked at Supergirl his gaze going from top to bottom, as far as he could tell, that outfit resembled a cheerleaders outfit with a red miniskirt, red boots, and blue tank top shirt with a red and gold stylized 'S' on her chest enclosed within a red diamond shape, and there was a red cape on her shoulders with a similar 'S' symbol in red and gold enclosed within the diamond again.

Supergirl looked Paul over as well, Paul thought he detected a hint of recognition in those eyes, "lucky thing I saw you, where did you fall from anyway?" "I fell from my father's laboratory, he was doing some experiments with tame wormholes, perhaps you heard of him, Lionel Luthor?" Supergirl sucked in her breath in shock, "Lionel Luthor was Lex Luthor's father!" she backed away. "Who is Lex Luthor anyway and why would someone like you be afraid of him?" "You never heard of LuthorCorp, Lex Luthor is its chairman, he hates all superheroes especially myself and my cousin, he is a genius, and inventor and is always looking for ways to get rid of us, and to take over the world." Paul was flabbergasted, "Look miss, I don't hate you, I don't even know who you are, this Lex I have never heard of, although I do have a kid brother named Alexander." Paul said as he looked around, "What city is this, I don't recognize it?" Supergirl looked surprised, "this is Metropolis of course." "I can see its a metropolis but what is the city's name?" Paul asked. "Metropolis," Supergirl repeated again. Paul looked around, "I don't remember any city this big named Metropolis, is it on the east coast of North America?" "Yes," she said. "Ah Supergirl, do you have a name besides Supergirl?" "Of course, my name is Kara Zor El", she held out her hand, Paul shook it. "Look Kara, please don't be afraid of me, it would be ridiculous to be afraid of me, I am only human after all, and you are something more, I don't know what."

Kara looked at Paul more closely, "You have an honest face," she said, "I want to believe you, but Lex Luthor is a very devious manipulative villain." "I am sorry for that if he is a relative of mine. Tell me something, what year is it?" Kara looked a little perplexed that someone would ask that, "Why its June 21st, 2013 of course." Paul gulped, now it was his turn to look surprised, "I have traveled into the future? I admit its a possibility with wormholes, but I didn't not expect the wormholes we created to do that." "Why what time are you from?" Kara asked. "February 23, 1984," Paul said. Kara wrapped her arm around Paul's back and took off into the air amidst the astonishment of the crowd below. "Quick," she pleaded, "tell me where it is perhaps I can take you back." "Whoa easy there!" Paul exclaimed, his heart was racing as the ground dropped away from them, but Kara's arm was firmly tucked under his shoulder. Paul looked around for the vortex, but all he could see was blue sky and clouds framed by glass and steel towers. Paul wrapped an arm around Kara and her pleasing curves besides for extra security, "you know," he said, "after a while one can get used to this." Paul thought that this must seem very forward of him, but he wasn't going to risk falling thousands of feet if she were to lose her grip of him. Kara chuckled.

Kara put him down on the roof of a building with the spinning globe on it, she looked disappointed, "I had hoped that wormhole was still open, maybe I could go back to a time before my home planet was destroyed and save a few more of my people." Paul digested that bit of information, "My regrets Kara, I would have liked to have used that wormhole to return to my father's laboratory as well." Paul walked over to the edge of the roof, he looked over the city skyline, "I don't recognize this city, is it new?" "Its over two hundred years old, or so I am told." Kara said. "I see the problem now, I'm from a parallel universe, wormholes can connect those too, there is no guarantee that your world exists in my universe, and even if it did, it probably wouldn't be your world or it may have another Kara in it, who might object to your presence. Kara held his hand as a girlfriend might. Paul never had a girlfriend, he always felt too different, as an outsider looking in, and here was a girl who was an outsider as well.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Paul stood on the roof of the Daily Planet building, Supergirl was standing next to him, she was a girl with platinum blonde hair, blue eyes, was wearing a blue shirt, red skirt, red boots, red cape and a red-framed gold diamond shape on her chest with a red 'S' on it. "I have to leave you now," Supergirl said sympathetically, "there are other folks who need me, but I think we will see each other again," she added. With that Supergirl flew off into the sky, Just as a group of reporters filed onto the roof of the building. Paul was flabbergasted, no visible means of propulsion, his scientific mind went to work, _how can she do that?_ he thought.

Paul answered the reporter's questions as best he could, he told them he was from a different dimension, he was surprised they would believe such a story, he didn't see any reporters from the World Weekly News, they were all Daily Planet Reporters, an newspaper he had never heard of in a city he also never heard of, though it did look a bit like Manhattan. Paul had no reason to lie or makeup a story, he was not much into deception, he figured if they tossed him in a loony bin, at least the place had a bed in it on which to sleep. Oddly enough the reporters seemed credulous about his story, they must have seen Supergirl fly away, but no questions about her, he was the story today, seems they had seen plenty of weird stuff before, and Supergirl was old news for them.

A reporter named Clark Kent seemed particularly inquisitive. "What's your name son?" he asked as another photographer, a kid about his age, took his picture. "My name is Paul Luthor," Paul said. "Are you related to Lex Luthor?" Clark asked. "I'm from a parallel universe, I don't see how that's possible." Paul said. Another reporter approached him, this one a beautiful woman with dark hair. "Hello sir, my name is Lois Lane, I see you've met Clark already, and the photographer here is Jimmy Olsen." said Lois. "Nice to meet you Ms Lane, " Paul Luthor said.

Paul, Lois Lane, Clark Kent, and Jimmy Olsen filed down the stairs from the roof. Paul passed a few offices, noticed the flat screen video monitors as various reporters and writers typed their stories.

"Supergirl tells me it is now the year 2013, is that true?" asked Paul.

"That's correct," Clark said, "Why do you ask?"

"Well you see I'm from the year 1984 and I seem to have missed all the years in between," Paul said.

"Tell you what," Clark Kent said, "How about you come over to my place for dinner, you Lois, Jimmy and we can discuss it."

"Sure," Paul agreed.

Later that evening all four of them arrived at Clark's apartment. A dark-haired girl with blue eyes opened the door, "Hello," she said, "I'm Linda, I've cooked some spaghetti and meatballs." Something was familiar about her.

"Hello Linda," Paul said as he shook her hand. Linda had set a fine table

Later when they had all settled down at the dinner table. "You truly are a fine cook, Linda," Paul said remembering her name. "Linda is Clark's Cousin from Midvale, Illinois," Lois explained. "Are you two married?" Paul asked.

"Not yet, but we have set a date," Lois answered.

"And to think, it took the longest time just to get Lois to notice me," Clark added. Lois ribbed him with her elbow.

_Some kind of inside joke_, Paul assumed silently to himself.

There was something intense about Linda, clearly she was not all what she seemed . "Say Clark," Paul Luthor asked, "What do you know about Lex Luthor?" Clark seemed a bit uncomfortable on the subject. "Lex Luthor had a rough childhood, he had an enormous ego, wanted to dominate Metropolis and by extension the World, and when Superman opposed him in this, Lex became his determined enemy, Lex is a genius, has done some experiments with Kryptonite, as he is very paranoid about superman, who's main weakness is kryptonite, and as a result to his constant exposure to it radiation, that he keeps some on him at all times, he has lost his hair. Another rumor, though not a substantiated one is that he is the actual head of inter-gang." "I have not a clue what this Kryptonite is," said Paul, "I know something about chemistry however and krypton is a noble gas like helium. "No Clark admitted, kryptonite is not made with Krypton, the mineral is named after the planet that exploded named Krypton that was Superman's home. Kryptonite is a product of the nuclear reactions produced by the supernova explosion of Krypton's star Rao. I believe you may be familiar with the Crab Nebula, the star that created that was Rao." Clark Kent seemed very familiar about that subject.

Paul looked at Linda for a bit, "You know," he said, "you look a bit familiar to me, I know this is a parallel Universe, and people in my Universe may have their counterparts here, but you are too young to have come from 1984, so maybe it was your mother I'm thinking of." Linda looked uncomfortable, "Uh, my mother and father are dead, I was living at Midvale orphanage until my Cousin Clark agreed to take me in."

"I'm sorry to hear about the passing of your parents, how did they die?" Paul asked.

"It was an explosion, you see my father was a scientist, he was doing experiments with rocket engines and it blew up!" Linda looked a bit misty-eyed when she said that. "You mother was killed too?" Paul asked. "She served as his assistant." There was something in Linda's expression, like she was there to witness the whole thing, yets something about that story didn't ring true to Paul, he couldn't put his finger on it, but Linda was holding something back. _An exploding planet and an exploding rocket lab,_ Paul thought.

"I'll tell you one thing," Clark brought up, "You are very unlike the Lex Luthor I know, he is a lot more devious.

I would caution you about Supergirl however, she has her own long list of enemies, so if you are going to pursue a relationship with her, her enemies are going to take advantage of that fact should they ever find out." Linda moved next to Paul, "Clark is right," Linda said, "Being around her can be dangerous, and the danger is not from her, but from her enemies, who may use you to get to her."

"I am flattered that you would think that," said Luthor, "but honestly what chance have I got with her, she rescues lots of people I am sure."

"Don't underestimate your importance Paul," Lois Lane said, "Superman has rescued me plenty of times, and his enemies have used me in their various schemes to get at him."

"He has?" Paul asked incredulously. "Being a superhero can be lonely sometimes, Superman, has confided this to me on many an occasion. Then again," Lois confided,, "Supergirl cares about everyone, that is what motivates her to be a superhero." Paul really didn't know what to think about this. Paul looked at Linda, she was looking down at her plate. Paul looked at Lois Lane again, _Dare I hope that? _Paul thought, he had been let down by so many girls before, he'd been the victim of many a prank in his high school years, that by the time he got into college, he just gave up on the whole notion of his meeting the girl of his dreams, as always he retreated to his scientific work when he got lonely, at least he could satisfy his curiosity, if not his innate loneliness and his forlorn social life at that.

When dinner was over, Paul got up, "thanks for dinner," he said. "Paul wait," Linda said, "where will you go, what will you do?" she looked concerned. Paul stared at her for a moment, _Am I imagining something or does this girl really like me?_ Paul thought, after thinking a little more he said, "I just opened up a dimensional vortex crossing barriers of time and space to get here, that has got to be worth something to some employer." Just then Clark produced a business card and handed it to Paul. "You might try looking them up, they are a science lab that has produced plenty of background material for my stories, I think they could use a kid like you, and they might even be able to get you back home with your help. I can provide a character reference if you like." Clark said, "And so can I," said Linda, "for all that is worth." she added. "I thank you both," said Paul, I am anxious to get back to my own time and Universe, however fascinating this Universe has proven to be." Paul shook hands with all those present.

Paul walked out the door, and headed down the hall to the elevator, when Linda came rushing down to meet him. "Wait Paul!" Linda said, she handed him an envelope, "Clark meant to give this to you. He took a collection around the Daily Planet office to help you with your Hotel expenses while you look for work." " I can't believe it!" Paul was touched, _they'd do this for a stranger?_ Paul really didn't believe it, he took the envelope and Linda gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Take care of yourself, ok?" Paul was speechless, he stepped into the elevator and he just stared at Linda as the double doors closed, _who is this girl?_ He thought. Paul opened up the envelope, in it was $2000 in one hundred dollar bills, "Oh my God!" Paul Luthor exclaimed. Paul walked down the lobby past the doorman who held the door open as he stepped out into the rain.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Linda stepped back into Clark's apartment."Did you give him the money envelope?" said Clark. "Of course," she said. Lois Lane came downstairs and was wearing white gloves while holding a glass. "I got his fingerprints on this," she said, "and if they are an exact match with the police files for Lex Luthor. then physically at least he is Lex Luthor only 29 years younger. Even clones don't have the same fingerprints as their originals!" Lois scanned the fingerprint images into her laptop, when the results came back 100% match, Clark said, "I was afraid of this." "But why did you give him the money?" Linda asked.

"Once, a long time ago, Lex and I were friends," Clark said, "It started when I saved his life after he drove his car off a bridge, he would have drowned had I not save him. I blame myself for his turning to evil, he tried to cure my vulnerability to Kryptonite, and he wrongly assumed that Kryptonite had no effect on humans. Kryptonite has no immediate effect on the human physiology, but prolonged exposed can cause unpredictable changes in abilities, behavior and personality, with Lex it caused him to lose his hair and it made him very paranoid and ultimately evil.

"It is very dangerous Clark!" Lois said, "We don't really know whether it was the Kryptonite that made him evil, or whether that trait was in him all along and he was only hiding it. Lex can be very devious you know, one time even I was dating him, he can be quite charming when he wants to be." "Yes I know," Clark admitted, "that is why I want you as Linda and Supergirl to keep an eye on him. I don't have time to keep track of two Lex Luthors at the same time, besides I can tell he likes you."

"I had a feeling you were going to say that," Linda said, "He seems nice enough." "So was Lex, and then he changed, be careful Kara," said Clark. "I wonder why I didn't use my own name as an alter ego," said Linda, "Kara seems a perfectly fine Earth name." "Its public Knowledge that Supergirl's name is Kara Zor El, and you have a disguise to maintain. Look at all those celebrities that don't even have superpowers, they are hounded by photographers!" said Clark, "Believe me, you'll never get a moment's rest if everyone knows your Supergirl all the time." Linda accepted that and decided to follow Paul at a discrete distance, an easy enough thing to do when you have superhearing and supervision.

Paul stepped onto the unfamiliar street, He was on the intersection of 4th avenue and 53rd street, While like Manhattan, and the streets were unfamiliar enough to be unsettling to one familiar with the place. For starters Manhattan did not have a 4th avenue at midtown, at least not one so named by the street signs, Paul recalled it being Lexington Avenue, but the street signs simply said 4th avenue and this struck Paul as very wrong. From the aerial view he had while being rescued, Paul recalled that like Manhattan, Metropolis was on an island. Paul went over to a Subway station entrance, he walked down the stairs, and there was a barred gate with turnstiles with a slot in the turbstile machine that accepted something called a Metrocard, Paul had no idea what a Metrocard was, the booth which sold them was closed for the night. Paul spied a map of Metropolis, found the current location of 4th and 53rd and discovered that he was a block away from a large green space called Century Park.

Paul walked a block through the rain towards Century Park, perhaps there were some nice hotels there. Paul entered the Metropolis Hilton and walked up to the Hotel Clerk There was a man dressed in a blue uniform, He had dark hair brown eyes and a mustache, "Good evening sir," he said, "would you like a room?" "Yes," Paul replied, "One with a view of the Park of possible, a single or double bed would do." The clerk walked up to a board with hooks and keys in the back, he selected on labled "23", "Room 23 has a double bed, a bathroom and shower, and HDTV with Cable including all Movie channels with pay per view options. The room is $125 a night, payable in advance if you don't mind" "That's fine," Paul said he paid the money and took the key.

Paul walked up the stairs to the second floor, his room was down the corridor third to the right. Paul inserted the key into the door lock and turned it, the door clicked and he pushed it open. Inside was the double bed, Large screen HD Television just as promised, a bathroom, shower and closet. Paul didn't have any spare clothes so he just striped down to his underwear and climbed under the covers of the bed. The television was remarkably flat, there was a box on the table on which it stood which was the cable box, and a blue ray player, whatever that was. Paul seen something similar in Kent's apartment, but for now Paul felt like getting some rest, he turned off the table lamp next to his bed and all was dark. The curtains were drawn in front of the window. Paul stared up at the ceiling and reviewed the events of the day. He was saved by a blonde-haired, blue eyed girl that flew, that in itself was pretty unbelievable. _How did she fly? _Paul Luthor did not know, _but she was pretty_, Paul could not get her out of his head. Paul finally went to sleep.

Sunlight bled through the gaps in the curtain telling Paul it was morning. Paul got up put on his clothes, his dirty socks, black shoes, his shirt, jeans and lab coat, he stuffed the remaining cash from the envelope into his wallet and put it in his pocket, and checked out the various credit cards, all were pretty much useless as having expired by now, not that he thought they would work if they hadn't, he had a driver's license with a youthful face and a birth date of July 5th, 1968, that had expired as well, and there was the question of his legal status. Paul was surprised he hadn't been visited by INS agents.

All Paul had that was of any value was a wallet full of cash. Paul watched the news on CNN for a bit It was not the CNN that he remembered, The stories were ridiculous, a bunch of monsters, with superheroes of various sorts fighting them. Paul saw himself being rescued by Supergirl. Paul was still in this comic book world. On a hunch, Paul picked up the phone on the table next to his bed and dialed his father's number complete with area code. "Hello?" said the unfamiliar voice. "excuse me," said Paul, "but is Lionel Luthor there?" "Is this some sort of a joke?" said the angry voice. Before Paul could answer, the man hung up with a loud click. _How rude!_ Paul thought.

Paul walked downstairs past the front lobby, another man stood there, this one with blonde hair, a clean shaven face and blue eyes. _A rather cheap hotel for the amount of money it costs per night,_ Paul thought. Paul walked out onto the street, there was a subway station entrance nearby, he descended down the stairs and went to the now open subway clerk and bought a Metrocard with two trips, the fare was shockingly expensive for a subway ride. Paul slid his card through the slot on the turnstile, and the metal arms rotated as he pushed past. He waited for the train.

The train was in better shape than what he knew of most New York City trains, Paul noted the lack of graffiti that he was so used to seeing on such trains. Some of the people on the train dressed a little odd, he noted some black man with ill fitting trousers with his underwear hanging out. Some blonde woman was wearing a 1960s "peace sign" pendant. _Looks like this world is populated by neohippies, but then again there are all sorts of strange people on the subways._ Paul got off at the stop indicated on the subway map, he stepped through the open doors onto the Subway platform and pushed through the turnstile gate and ascended the stairs to street level. Paul was now on 23rd and 5th, there was a large building with gold letter that said "Star Labs".

Paul looked down at his clothes, _First order of business, I need to get a suit,_ he thought. Paul walked into a Men's clothing store, he looked at the various posters of men's fashions. Paul concluded that they hadn't changed so much since the 1980s. Paul spent $200 on suitable interview clothing. _Now to type my resume_. Paul went into an Office supply store called "Staples" and rented a computer,it operated on a card similar to the Metrocard, which he bought at the counter, he went to work typing up a resume, he listed his educational background, and added that he came from a parallel dimension, Paul wondered right there what they would make of that, so the school in this universe didn't have any records of his academic achievement, which really sucked. Paul added his work experience in his father's lab, which of course probably didn't exist in this universe either. He listed his references, which included Supergirl, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane, whatever good that would do. Paul got up and left the Staples Office Supply store with his resume.

Paul walked into the lobby of Star Labs. The interview went well until they asked to do a criminal background check, his fingerprints matched a set belonging to Lex Luthor, and they called up the prison and confirmed that Lex Luthor was still being held there. The interviewer was polite, but she said, "Sorry Paul, but the work we do here is of a very sensitive nature, of national security import. While you've scored high on our tests, we are worried about your moral character and reliability because of the person whose fingerprints you match, I'm sure you understand."

Paul did not understand, or perhaps he understood all too well, he stormed out of the Star Labs building furious. Supergirl was waiting outside the front entrance of Star Labs. "Just your friendly neighborhood Supergirl?" he quipped. "What's that?" she asked. "Just some comic book character with a habit of spinning spider webs and swinging from building to building. Supergirl shrugged, "How did the interview go?" she asked. "I'm afraid I carry around some baggage from my older bald-headed double, they are afraid that I might turn evil, and they don't want to risk my getting a hold of their precious secrets and turning them to my evil ends." Paul said. "I'm sorry to hear that Paul," Supergirl said, "If it would make you feel any better, there was a time when I was not trusted either." "It doesn't make me feel any better to see someone else suffer as well. I'm just going to have to keep looking, that's all." "That at least is not something I would expect to come out of the mouth of Lex Luthor," said Supergirl.

Paul looked at Supergirl, her blonde hair, her blue eyes. Paul swallowed, and slowly raised his right hand, and placed it slowly on her left shoulder. "Supergirl? Do you have a name besides Supergirl?" "My name is Kara," she said. "Kara, I heard you can bend steel bars, and that bullets bounce off your chest, I've seen you fly, you've rescued me from my fall. I ... I " Paul hesitated, Supergirl could see that he was terrified of what he was about to say, and what she was going to say in response. "Go ahead Paul, " Supergirl said sympathetically. "Kara," Paul continued, he steeled himself over what he was going to say next, "I love you!" Paul closed his eyes, his hands trembled in anticipation of a possible rejection, his right hand touched the fabric of her cape. Supergirl didn't say anything, Paul felt her slowly move closer, _No it couldn't be, _Paul thought, _I don't get the girl, especially not this one!_ Paul steeled himself for a let down, instead she kissed him, and it wasn't a quick kiss, or a short peck on the cheek like last time. Paul placed his arms around her and she put her arms around him. Paul wanted this moment to last forever. Finally Paul withdrew, he sat down on the sidewalk, his heart was racing, he was red in the face, Supergirl sat down next to him, she was calm, and smiled at him.

"Is that what you wanted Paul?" Paul looked up to her, "You were sent to keep an eye on me weren't you." "Yes Paul, I was," said Supergirl. "I think you are sweet," Supergirl continued, "also I was curious to find out what kind of kisser you were, that was some kiss.' Supergirl complemented, and I've been kissed by quite a few. Are you sure that its not just gratitude that you feel?" "I am grateful, to be sure, but I also feel something else for you as well, I think I am in love with you. Paul closed his eyes and waited for the rebuke, but Supergirl said, "I think I will be merciful and not say anything at this moment, you've said your piece, and obviously you've had time to prepare, I commend you for your courage. I'm sure you are a wonderful person, but I need time to decide how I feel about you, as you caught me unawares, I am not saying no nor am I saying yes. Let me just say, you are a great kisser for someone who has difficulty approaching women, and I don't feel like making you miserable tonight with a rejection or getting your hopes up too high with a premature affirmative answer that I'm not sure about. Let me just say, you have a chance with me, perhaps a better one than most other people that I have rescued. I can tell you truthfully that I like you as of this moment, I really don't know you though, that is why I was sent to keep an eye on you, because of who's double you are in this universe."

"I'm really tired of being compared to that man," said Paul with frustration in his voice, "I just want to get home. Well I would miss you very much if I went home, but I can't just leave my father behind to think I am dead! I miss my father and my mother dearly!" Supergirl stared at Paul, "I think there is something that you should know about Lex Luthor, his mother died when Lex was very young. Lex's Dad died under mysterious circumstances after Lex reached 21, that is what Clark tells me anyway, as I wasn't around. If that's your goal is to return home, I hope you succeed, if I can help in anyway, just let me know," with that she flew up into the sky, _I don't know how she does that, _Paul thought.

Paul tried a few relaxation exercises, he took a few deep breaths to slow down his heart beat, he relaxed his arms. Just then, a red Lambrigini pulled up to the curve, the tinted window rolled down, "Lex is that you?" said the red-haired woman inside. "I'm afraid, you've mistaken me for someone else," said Paul a little warily."I read about you in the newspaper," she opened the door and got out, "My name is Tess, Tess Mocker." "Are you Lex's girlfriend?" Paul asked. "I'm his trustee, I was appointed the temporary chairman of Luthorcorp while Lex was President, so there would be no conflict of interest, and now as he is in jail, I have continued in that capacity The point is, Luthorcorp needs new blood, would you be interested in working for us?" Paul thought about it for a bit. _So this is that bald-headed bastard's company! Well maybe since he's gotten me into so much trouble, I can use his company to get out of it again. _"That is a generous offer Tess," Paul said, "Am I receiving this offer because of who I look like?" Paul said. "Lets just say that Luthorcorp hasn't been the same without Lex's genious, also I miss him. _Uh oh! _Thought Paul, _Am I a substitute for Lex Luthor to her. Having her boyfriend in Jail can't be any fun for her._ Paul needed the resources of a large corporation to build his laboratory apparatus though, after a moment's consideration, Paul decided he had to accept, he just hoped that Supergirl would forgive him. Paul nerviously said, I'll accept your offer, provided that it is genuine, and he shook hands with Tess.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Tess led Paul into the lab. "There have been a number of government projects that Luthorcorp has been working on," Tess explained, "Of course we had to bid on them just like everyone else when Lex Luthor was President. Even so through honest bidding, Luthorcorp has been able to win a fair bit of those; the President of course had nothing to do with selecting those winning bids." "This is our Physics research facility, which I believe is right up your ally Paul. You first assignment for Luthorcorp is to write up an engineering proposal to duplicate the apparatus your father build for transdimensional travel." Tess said.

Paul sat in Lex Luthor's laboratory in front of a computer terminal, it was after hours. Supergirl flew in an open window, a window that was deliberately left open by Paul. "Hello Supergirl, I was expecting you, and not to worry, I put away all those fragments of kryptonite I found in the lab, they are in a lead lined safe under concrete," Paul said, "seems Lex Luthor had an obscession about you and Superman."

Supergirl looked disappointed, "I had high hopes for you, and you decided to work for Luthorcorp, how could you?" Paul explained, "I had no choice, if I wanted to work as anything other than a burger flipper at McDonalds. Luthorcorp has the resources to build my equipment to get me back home again. I have high aspirations, and working for McDonald's or some other fast food joint is not going to get me there, and as you know Lex Luthor's reputation has preceded me, and its making my life difficult as no one will trust me. I have another idea, there is something I want to show you." "Alright then show me," Supergirl said.

Paul walked up to computer terminal he was working at, he called up a document. An orange and yellow suit of armor appeared on the screen. "Are you familiar with a superhero named Ironman?" "No, I never heard of Ironman," Supergirl said. "I got this idea from a comic book in my own world, and since I now live in a comic book world, and work for a company similar to Stark Industries, I could become Ironman." Supergirl looked up at the ceiling, "Paul, do you have any idea of what your doing?"

"Well if I have the intellect of Lex Luthor, while the real Lex Luthor is safely in Jail, and I have the resources of Luthorcorp behind my back, Tess has offered me a position that is practically tantamount for CEO of the company, well I'm Vice President of operations, so I have a lot of pull, if I can divert some resources to get this suit made then I could become Ironman, as the position of Ironman in this universe is currently vacant. "Paul what you propose is dangerous!" Supergirl said. "And being with you is dangerous too," Paul countered, "and I very much want to be with you! You see you have lots of enemies; people and creatures that might want to take me as hostage or kill me just to get to you. If I have to be a superhero to spend time with you, then I'm going to be a superhero!"

"This is a bad idea Paul!" Supergirl said. "Are you going to stop me?" "No," Supergirl admitted, "I have to see where you go with this first." "Yeah, I know, you are going to see if I turn to evil first and then try to stop me," Paul said, "Don't you get it Supergirl, I'm in love with you! I'm going to do what it takes to get you to love me. "I'm telling you right now this is a bad idea, not only is being a Superhero dangerous, Luthorcorp is full of Lex's people, they are dangerous!" Supergirl said. "Superman gave you a chance, so did Batman eventually, I'm just asking you to please give me that same consideration that is all!" Paul said.

Supergirl gave up, "Alright Paul, have it your way, just be careful will you?" "But of course," said Paul Luthor, "Look I can match wits with Lex Luthor any day of the week, and he's in Jail, what harm could he do?" "You'd be surprise Paul!" Supergirl said, "Just be careful, that's all I'm asking, naturally Superman sent me to watch you, so I'll be dropping in from time to time." "I'm looking forward to it," Paul said, "Maybe I can win your affection."

"I like you as a friend Paul," Supergirl said. "And time will tell if it turns into anything more. First things first is to get Lex's reputation out from under me. I am not Lex Luthor!" Paul insisted. "But you could be!" Supergirl continued, "You are 16 years old, and people can change. Lex did after all, and you got Lex's DNA and fingerprints!" "DNA is not destiny, you know that! All I'm asking you do to is give me a chance!" Paul said."Alright Paul, its just possible that you may be right," Supergirl said, "but I'm keeping an eye on you just the same, You understand?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Paul replied. Supergirl kissed him on the cheek and flew out the window. Paul sighed thinking, _maybe she is already in love with me but doesn't want to admit it, though that is a dangerous line of thinking. What would I be thinking if I was her? I might be thinking that or I might be thinking 'Get this creep away from me!' Time will tell. At least I can try to get home if nothing else works._


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

September 5, 2013

Paul stood in Lex Luthor's Laboratory all by himself with the orange and yellow suit of armor was mounted on the wall in front of him. Paul Luthor took a 45 automatic pistol and pointed at the suit firing 10 times emptying the clip. The bullets ricocheted onto the walls, floor and ceiling surrounding the suit of armor. _Very good,_ Thought Paul. Then he took the M60 chain fed tripod mounted machine gun and fired a stream of bullets at the suit of armor. "Not bad, not bad at all," said Paul looking at the result. "Now let's try the servo-motors," said Paul to himself. Paul walked up to the Suit, opened up the latches, and climbed inside. Paul did an Iris scan to unlock the suit and he activated the command which caused the suit to automatically enclose around him. Paul detached himself from the wall mount and moved a leg and an arm began walking around the lab, turned on the synthetic vision. _Very good. _"now lets try some flying," Paul said to himself. He activated the jets in his boots and arms and flew through the open window. "Man oh man, this is something, what a view!" Paul said as he flew about the streets of Metropolis. Supergirl flew up to him.

"What are you doing?" She said. "Flying the same, as you." Paul replied. "So you're really going through with this?" Supergirl said. "Yes ma'am." Paul said. "Just so you know, I've defeated Lex Luthor in his super suits before," Supergirl said. "I'm sure you have, "Paul tuned in his police scanner," Let us see what crimes we have here today. "Wait on the internet, a hostage crises in Paris, on the Eiffel Tower, the terrorists claim to have a nuclear bomb, just great! I haven't tested my suit against nuclear bombs, Oh what the hell. Let's go!" Paul turned around and flew north east." "I'll just let the ole GPS plot the shortest distance route to Paris." Paul said. "Paul, you got to be crazy, that's an atomic bomb!" Supergirl nevertheless followed Paul. Supergirl and Paul broke the sound barrier and rose in altitude as the sky grew darker as they went into space.

Paul was surrounded with flame as he reentered the atmosphere. "Ah geez, I'm as blind as a bat," Paul said from within his suit. Fiery plasma glowed all around him as his suit took the punishment of atmospheric re-entry. Paul felt a pair of arms grab him, they were slender but unbelievably strong arms, Paul couldn't move his arms, they were pinned to his sides, the servo motors protested as he tried, so he stopped trying. As the plasma cleared, Paul saw supergirl looking right at him through his face plate. As the two slowed to a tolerable speed at low altitude, Paul flipped open his face plate. "You can let go of me now, I think I can fly on my own with this suit." Supergirl kissed him. "Just for good luck," she explained.

The two raced towards the Eiffel Tower. "Supergirl," Paul said, "There is an elevator with the cable cut plummeting to the ground. "I'm on it!" Supergirl said, and in an instant she was gone and Paul was left spinning in her wake. "Oh God!" Paul said as he used thrusters to stabilize his flight, he maximized his thrusters to arrive at the scene of the plummeting elevator. Supergirl was holding it up. "Paul," She said, "I need you to take miss Lois Lane to the ground." "Just a moment, I need to sweat off the heat of atmospheric re-entry. Paul sweated a big puff of steam as he flushed his water reserves onto the skin of his supersuit, when exterior thermometers registered an acceptable temperature that would not burn Lois Lane upon contact, he said, "Now I'm ready!" Paul held on to Lois Lane and flew her down to the ground, while supergirl pushed the elevator car up the shaft. "Supergirl!' Paul called, "the atomic bomb is on the Elevator!" "I know," she replied. Just then Supergirl and the elevator crashed through the roof of the shaft and ascended to the sky.

Paul flipped open his face plate. "Paul Luthor, is that you?" Lois exclaimed. "Please Miss Lane, can't you call me Iron Man?" Paul asked. "Sounds a bit confusing with 'Man of Steel' don't you think?" "Where is Superman by the way, isn't he usually around when you're in peril?" Paul asked. Just then Superman showed up, suddenly there was a second Sun in the sky. Paul's supersuit servo-motors suddenly ceased up and all the electronics in his faceplate and suit died.

Paul's super suit stiffened as he toppled over, hitting the ground stiff as a board. "Ow!" Paul cried from within his immobilized suit, "I forgot to harden this suit's electronics against electromagnetic pulse! Can somebody get me out of this thing?" Superman was busy catching airplanes that were falling out of the sky and putting them on the ground, various cars were heard crashing, traffic on the streets and highways came to a halt. Lois was busy looking for the manual release buttons to open the suit up so Paul could get out. "Some hero I turned out to be," Paul said dejectedly. "Well you saved my life," Lois Lane added sympathetically, "Superman didn't get here in time!"

Superman landed in front of Paul and Lois Lane. "Well that's because a certain roving reported didn't tell me she was going to cover this hostage crises up close, to get the scoop on Clark Kent." Superman said with just a little anger in his voice. "Well I thank you Paul, for saving Lois Lane's life," Superman added. "You're welcome Superman," Paul replied, "looks like I have to work out a few bugs in this suit before I return to superhero duties. I the background the terrorists were hauled away by French Police.

Paul looked up in the sky at that fading nuclear fireball. "Oh my God!" Paul cried with sudden realization, "Kara was up there!" "It's ok Paul," Kara said as she landed on the ground. "Oh Kara, I thought you were dead!" Paul said as he ran up and gave her a hug and a kiss. "It's ok Paul, I'm alright!" Kara said as she stroked his cheeks. "I'm afraid my super suit is dead due to the electromagnetic pulse of the nuclear explosion." Paul said.

It's ok Paul; I'll give you a lift back. "Thank You supergirl," Paul looked around saw the darkened buildings and immobilized traffic. "Looks like France is in a bit of trouble." Paul noticed. "We'll let NATO and the EU handle that," Supergirl said, "the area affected is about 50 miles around Paris, I'm sure the troops and the government can handle the aftermath, the important thing is we saved millions of lives from the nuclear explosion." "I guess you're right," Paul agreed, " think Charles De Gaulle Airport is out of commission right now, and I need to get back to my lab and build a new supersuit" "I'll take you to England, from there we can board a plane," Supergirl answered."I'll buy the tickets," Paul added. The two of them flew into the sky, this time a bit more slowly.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Andrei was fixing the telescope mount on the international Space Station, when a woman clad in a dark leather outfit flew by him and landed on one of the solar panels. The woman wasn't wearing a spacesuit.

Sarah McConnell was taking a break looking through the space station's cupola at the Earth, when suddenly this bearded man with a receding hairline in a black leather suit suddenly appeared outside the window. The man smiled as Sarah for a moment, and then he punched out the window

Peter was communications station, the wind was howling, and his ears were popping. "Mayday mayday," Peter said, "This is the International Space Station, we're experiencing sudden cabin depressurization!" Red lights were flashing through the cabin. Peter climbed through the hatch to the waiting Soyuz Space Capsule, Akira, and Boris followed him in. "Where's Sarah and Andrei?" asked Boris. "I don't know," said Peter, "we must have been hit by a meteor or orbiting space junk!" "I'm sorry," Boris said, "we just can't wait the air is already getting too thin!" Boris closed the hatch.

The Space Station was breaking up, as three black leather clad figures floated in space pounded it to pieces with their fists. Meanwhile the Soyuz capsule undocked and fired its thrusters for emergency atmospheric reentry. The thin man with goatee beard and a receding hairline pointed to the escaping space capsule, a brawny fellow with a bushy beard in a similar outfit and the dark haired girl leaped off the structure of the ruined space station and flew towards the capsule.

Supergirl in red, blue and gold, and a man in red and gold powered armor flew up out of the atmosphere. Paul was monitoring the situation through his heads up display, two figures without spacesuits were punching dents into a Soyuz space capsule amid a cloud of expanding space station debris. They seemed to be moving through space just like Supergirl was, "Great," Paul said, "another bunch of Kryptonians!" Paul flew in front of the black leather clad woman. "That's enough," Paul said, he punched the woman in the gut. The dark haired woman was knocked backwards by Paul's mechanically assisted blow. The woman went right back at him, her slender wrist and arm deceptively powerful. Supergirl was meanwhile wrestling with the big brawny many with the beard, surprisingly even though he was much bigger than her, she was getting the better of him, pushing him back.

Paul was having his hands full fighting this dark-haired woman, she was punching dents in his armor with her slender but strong wrists. Paul threw a fist at the dark haired woman, but she ducked before his fist could connect. Twin red beams of light from the woman's eyes started burning a hole in Paul's suit. Paul launched some missiles from the suits arms, an explosion ensued is space as one of the missiles made contact with the girl. Paul spin wildly from the force of the close explosion in space. A fist connected to Paul's reactor back pack. A warning flashed in Paul's HUD, _reactor meltdown_, it said is red letters.

The dark-haired woman made a silent scream in space as she lost consciousness, due to the reactor meltdown of Paul's kryptonite core reactor. Paul ejected the damage kryptonite core reactor. The dark-haired girl floated helplessly among the debris in space. The other two Kryptonians withdrew at the sight of their fallen comrade. Supergirl meanwhile was wrestling with the Soyuz capsule; she welded the hole in the capsule closed with her heat vision. Without the kryptonite reactor, Paul floated in space, his life support system on emergency battery power, but unable to maneuver. Supergirl grabbed Paul. The Soyuz capsule fired its thrusters and descended into the atmosphere. Paul looked upward to where the dark-haired woman was, but she was gone.

As soon as they were low enough in the atmosphere, Paul flipped open his visor. "Who were those people," Paul said. "I'm not much into politics," said Supergirl, "but to me they looked like enemies of my uncle Jor El, the thin man is definitely General Zod, a man Jor El condemned to the Phantom Zone, the other two are his associates. I don't know how they got out."

Supergirl landed Paul on a tropical Island in the Pacific. "Where is Superman?" Paul asked. "That's a good question," Supergirl admitted, "I don't know." Paul took off his suit, "we need to bury this, it's contaminated," Paul added.


End file.
